Exercise/yoga mat and method

ABSTRACT

An improved exercise mat and method comprises opposed ends and opposed sides, and folding member means to extend the mat laterally from at least one of the sides while that folding member is attached to, or contiguous with, the side of the mat. When a user wants to extend the folding member away from the mat, increased surface area creates additional areas to protect the user from touching the floor or ground. If additional surface area is not needed for an exercise, the folding member can be folded inward of, and overlying flatly, the mat thus effectively increasing it thickness, and providing additional cushioning to the user.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an exercise mat for personal, individual use. In particular, the present invention provides an exercise mat that has foldable members to increase the surface area of the mat, while allowing the mat to be easily stored away when not in use. Even more particularly, the present invention provides for increase cushioning when one is exercising on the mat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Exercise mats, including yoga mats, are oftentimes employed by those who do floor or ground based exercises. The practitioners of such activities use these mats for at least two reasons—they are hygienic as they keep the user off and away from the ground or floor, and they provide a degree of cushioning that the floor or ground otherwise does not afford.

The thickness of prior art exercise mats have much to do with comfort. Generally prior art mat thickness for personal, individual use mats, is generally from 1.5 mm to 5.0 mm or thicker. If the mat is too thin, a user can scrape or bang body parts such as hands, elbow, knees and feet. The tradeoff is that thick mats can make it harder for you to “feel” a strong connection to the floor. Furthermore, most mats are rolled upon when not in use. Thus, depending upon whether one uses a mat at a home base, she may want to go with a thicker, more comfortable mat. On the other hand, if she wants to take her mat away from home, she might choose a thinner mat for ease of transportation.

The geometry of most such individual-use mats is rectangular. Size dimensions of such personal use mats run generally from 24 inches wide to 68-74 inches in length, depending upon the height of the user. A mat of this type is generally made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), though thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) are also used. Depending on individual preferences, a user of such mats might consider their texture, stickiness, and eco-friendliness.

Current prior art mats have two significant disadvantages. First, sometimes when you want to engage in an exercise that requires a wider stance, such as hand placement for push-ups, it would be desirable to have a mat that extends laterally so that the hands do not have to touch the floor. In this regard, rectangular mats are inappropriate. Second, additionally, some exercises require more cushioning than others, for example, when one is exercising from a position where the knees are engaged with the ground. While the knees would require additional cushion, other body parts might not, for example, while doing standing lunges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A novel personal use, exercise or yoga mat is disclosed that provides sufficient surface area lateral to the main body of the mat. This novel mat provides an ability to fold in the added lateral surface area members to provide for extra cushioning of the mat when needed. An exercise mat of this type comprises opposed ends and opposed sides, and folding member means to extend the mat laterally from at least one of the sides while that folding member is attached to, or contiguous with, the side of the mat. When a user wants to extend the folding member away from the mat, increased surface area creates additional areas to protect the user from touching the floor or ground. If additional surface area is not needed for an exercise, the folding member can be folded inward of, and overlying flatly, the mat thus effectively increasing it thickness, and providing additional cushioning to the user.

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a personal use, individual exercise or yoga mat of a particular dimension that has the ability to extend the sides thereof laterally with a member that would be contiguous with the mat.

It is yet another object of the present invention to include a creased element or member of the folding member that divides the folding member from the mat itself, allowing the folded member to rest flatly onto the mat.

It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a crease in the folding member where it meets the mat such that that crease has a thinner cross section than the mat itself.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide two folding members on opposed sides of the mat, symmetrically disposed thereon, for symmetrical exercises, such as push-ups.

It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a folding member, or folding members, whose length is the same as, or less than, the width of the mat, such that when the folding members are folded inwardly and overlying the mat, the folded member or members lie flatly and do not extend beyond the width of the mat.

It is also another object of the present invention to provide a folding member that has at least one additional crease along its length to create sections thereof which can provide for folding members whose length can be increased as the sections can fold upon themselves, and when so oriented, will still be of a total length that does not exceed the width of the mat.

Other features and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the features in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined solely by the claims attached hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention with the folding members unfolded;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the folding member of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the present invention taken at line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention with the folding members folded;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention showing a plurality of crease members;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention showing one folding member with no crease member;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention showing an alternate shape;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the present invention shown rolled up for storage or carrying in a cylindrical form;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the present invention with the folding members unfolded showing how a user can do push up exercises; and,

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the present invention with the folding members folded showing how a user can do lunge exercises.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An exercise or yoga mat 10 is referenced in all figures. In some embodiments, the mat 10 is shown with one or more folding members 20, and with crease members 22 or without. The crease members 22 facilitate the folding and unfolding of the folding members 20.

With reference to FIG. 1, the present invention teaches an personal use, individual exercise mat 10 having a dimension defined by its opposed ends 12 and opposed sides 14. Extending laterally from each side 14, in this embodiment, is a folding member 20. The ability to fold and unfold each folding member 20 may be facilitated by a crease member 22 as shown. The folding member 20 is shown attached to and contiguous with the mat 10. However, an alternative embodiment can have the folding member 20 as a separate member, FIG. 1A, and simply be contiguous with said mat 10, yet not physically connected or attached to it. Folding members 20 generally have a dimension that is different and smaller than the dimension of the mat 10. In FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment shows the mat 10, with one folding member 20 having no crease member 22.

While FIG. 1 shows the mat 10 with two folding members 20, it is contemplated that there be at least one folding member 20. However, depending upon the surface area desired, the invention contemplates that there could be more than two folding members 20. Furthermore, when two or more folding members 20 are employed, it is contemplated in the preferred embodiment that they have substantially the same dimensions, although such dimensioning is not required to practice the invention and the folding members 20 can be of different dimensions as well.

The mat 10 is manufactured from conventional plastic forming methods, such as from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other thermoplastics. This method of manufacturing plastics-based materials such as the mat 10 is well known in the art. Creating the crease member 22 is also well known in the art, and is formed by heating, or thermoforming, the thermoplastic and bending or compressing the heated section until it takes a set upon cooling sufficiently. Generally, the thickness of the mat 10 is guided by conventional manufacturing methods and user preferences. However, it is contemplated that in practice, each mat 10 will be from 1.5 mm thick to 5.0 mm thick. As seen in FIG. 2, crease members 22 facilitate the folding and unfolding of the folding members 20 by providing an area of thickness of the mat 10 that is less than the thickness of the mat 10 that is not creased. More particularly, while crease members 22 are optional from a manufacturing standpoint, they do serve the purpose of allowing a folding member 20 to fold flatly against the mat 10 when the folding members 20 are folded inwardly of the mat 10, as seen in FIG. 3.

It is preferred, though not necessary, that the folding member or members 20 be of such a length that when folded, they do not extend over the edge of either side 14 of the mat 10. For example, in FIG. 3, two folding members 20 are shown. Each folding member's length is approximately slightly less than one-half of the width of the mat 10 from side 14 to side 14. In FIG. 5, an alternative embodiment of the mat 10, only one folding member 20 is shown. It is preferable that that folding member's length be equal to, or at least slightly less than, the width of the mat 10 from side 14 to side 14. The purpose of dimensioning the length of the folding member 20 or members 20 in this manner is to allow them, when folded, not to extend beyond the width of the mat. This is preferred because when the mat 10 is rolled up for storage or transportation, or when it is not in use, as seen in FIG. 7, it rolls up neatly and as compactly as possible in a cylindrical form 24. Naturally, if one wanted to have longer folding members 20, the invention 10 could still be practiced as taught herein only with a resultant effect that the cylindrical form 24 would be longer.

One further embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, actually addresses a means to lengthen the folding members 20 while still allowing them, when folded, to lie within the width of the mat, and flatly against it. This is achieved by providing at least a second crease member 22, so that in essence two sections of each folding member 20 is created. When one desires to store or not use the mat 10, and roll it up, each section of the folding member 20 will be folded flatly upon itself, and then the two flatly oriented folding member 20 sections will be together flatly laid upon the mat 10.

In FIG. 6, yet another alternative embodiment shows a shape of mat 10, when the folding members 20 are open and extend away laterally form the sides 14 of the mat, that creates a substantially elliptical form. In this alternate shape, even more surface area is achieved for a user exercising on the mat 10. FIG. 6 illustrates how different shapes of the mat 10 can be and are included within the scope of the present invention.

In the method of use of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, with the folding members extended laterally away from the sides 14 of the mat, a user can provide sufficient surface area to keep his or her body completely off of the floor. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a user is engaged with the mat 10 to perform push up exercises. In this method of use, the user would open, unroll or unfurl the mat 10 (from a position as shown in FIG. 7), and lay it out on a floor, ground or other surface. The user would then unfold the folding members 20 so that they extend outward from the mat 10 (for hand placement position in preparation of doing the push up exercises), and then performing exercises on the mat 10. As another example, in FIG. 9, a similar method would be employed except the folding members 20 would be re-folded (if first extended; if not then the folding members 20 would remain folded) once the mat 10 is laid out on the floor or ground. From this position, a user could engage the mat 10 in exercises where the knees actually touch the ground on the folded members 20, for additional cushioning, such as when doing lunge exercises.

These and other scopes and advantages of the invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the written specification, claims, and appended drawings. Because many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalence. 

1. An exercise mat comprising opposed ends and opposed sides defining a dimension, and means to extend the said mat laterally from at least one of said sides, wherein said means comprises at least one folding member that is separate yet contiguous with the at least one of said sides of said mat wherein the said folding member further comprises a portion for insertion under the said mat at variable locations along the said side.
 2. An exercise mat of claim 1 wherein the said at least one folding member has a dimension other than the dimension of the mat.
 3. (canceled)
 4. (canceled)
 5. (canceled)
 6. An exercise mat of claim 1, wherein said mat is sized for individual use.
 7. An exercise mat of claim 1 having two folding members.
 8. An exercise mat of claim 7 in which the folding members have substantially similar dimensions.
 9. (canceled)
 10. An exercise mat of claim 1 having two folding members on opposed sides of the said mat.
 11. An exercise mat of claim 10, wherein said folding members are symmetrically disposed along the length of the opposed sides of said mat.
 12. An exercise mat of claim 11, wherein said folding members have substantially similar dimensions, and whose lengths when folded inward and overlying the said mat have a total combined length that is the same as, or less than, the width of the said mat.
 13. An exercise mat of claim 1 that is manufactured from a thermoplastic material.
 14. An exercise mat of claim 13 wherein said thermoplastic material is rollable.
 15. An exercise mat of claim 14 wherein said mat can be rolled into a shape that is substantially cylindrical.
 16. A method of using an exercise mat comprising opposed ends and opposed sides, and means to extend the said mat laterally from at least one of said sides, wherein said means comprises at least one folding member that is separate yet contiguous therewith, said method further comprising, opening said mat and laying it out on a floor, ground or other surface, unfolding said folding member so that it extends outward from said mat and wherein the said folding member further comprises a portion for insertion under the said mat at variable locations along the said side; and, exercising on said mat.
 17. A method of using an exercise mat comprising opposed ends and opposed sides, and means to extend the said mat laterally from at least one of said sides, wherein said means comprises at least one folding member that is separate yet contiguous therewith, said method further comprising, opening said mat and laying it out on a floor, ground or other surface, unfolding said folding member so that it extends outward from said mat side and wherein the said folding member further comprises a portion for insertion under the said mat at variable locations along the said side; exercising on said mat; re-folding said folding member onto said mat to produce enhanced thickness of said mat relative to its thickness when said folding member is unfolded; and, exercising at least in part on said refolded member of said mat in addition to exercising on said mat.
 18. A member for use with an exercise mat, said member comprising a means for contiguous connection to said mat when said mat is in use, wherein said connection means comprises at least a portion of said member that is inserted under said mat, and further comprising a means for folding over the said mat an exposed portion of the said member that is not under the mat, such that the said folded exposed portion of the member lies substantially flatly over said mat.
 19. A member of claim 18, wherein the said folding means comprises a reduction of member material at the juncture between the said portion that lies under the said mat when in use and the exposed portion of said member, such that the said reduced material provides for substantially flat folding of said member.
 20. A member of claim 18, wherein said member is manufactured from a thermoplastic material. 